SECTION C: BUSINESS AND SUPPORT SERVICES

 

SECTION CN.5

BUSINESS AND SUPPORT SERVICES
DATA CLASSIFICATION

Procedure

Data is defined as any information generated, collected, stored, processed, or used by the College. This includes information in any medium, whether electronic or physical, and ranges from raw data to processed or analyzed information. Data can include textual content, numerical figures, images, audio, video, and metadata. Data may pertain to operational processes, personal identifiers, business transactions, or any other activities involving the organization.

 

CLASSIFICATIONS OF DATA

Secret data is data that was intended for use only within the College and either will cause harm or may cause severe harm to the College or any individual(s) if publicly disclosed. Secret data is initially created with a reasonable expectation that it will not be publicly disclosed. Examples include but are not limited to: Social security numbers, passwords, data related to employee or student disciplinary actions, and information related to ongoing criminal investigations or legal proceedings.

Confidential data was intended for use only within the College and may harm the College or any individual(s) if publicly disclosed. Confidential data is created with a reasonable expectation that it will be used only by authorized individuals in the course of their assigned duties. Examples include student records, employment records, and financial records.

Internal data is data intended only for use within the College but would not likely harm the College or any individual(s) if disclosed. Internal data is created with a reasonable expectation that the data will not be disclosed outside of the College. Data can be classified as internal either to the entire College, the employee body, the student body, or to any group of people within the College, such as a department or course section.

Public data is data that can be made public without any risk to the College and has been made public by authorized persons through authorized channels such as press releases, published documents, College websites, and/or marketing materials. Public data also includes data originally created for public release, such as information about public events. Public data does not include data which could theoretically be available under open records requests. All fulfillment of lawful open records requests is to be completed only by the person(s) officially delegated that responsibility by the College.

 

DISCLOSURE OF DATA

Disclosure of any data is prohibited unless such disclosure is reasonable, necessary for the fulfillment of one's official duties, and appropriate to the role performed by the individual disclosing the data.

 

 

Approved: 2024
Updated: 
Reviewed: